Embodiments of the present invention relate to disc golf courses including receptacles for catching discs. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to receptacles for catching and retaining discs that are thrown horizontally or vertically or that are rolled along the playing surface or skipped off of the playing surface or bounced off of the playing surface.
Some disc games require a player to throw a disc towards a target. For example, the game of disc golf is typically played on a disc golf course and comprises a series of holes, each hole comprising a tee area, a fairway area, a number of fairway hazards, a rough area, a green area, and a receptacle for completing the hole. The receptacle for completing the hole in disc golf is typically a chain and basket receptacle positioned on a pole such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,189 issued to Hedrick as the receptacle. The chain and basket assembly on a pole requires the user to throw the disc substantially horizontally through the air for the disc to be caught and retained in its elevated basket. The chain and basket assembly on a pole does not allow the player to complete the disc golf hole by throwing the disc vertically into the basket because the supports for the chains at the top of the assembly interfere with the downward trajectory of the disc. The chain and basket assembly on a pole also does not allow the player to complete the disc golf hole by rolling the disc along the playing surface, skipping the disc off of the playing surface, or bouncing the disc off of the playing surface and into the basket because the basket is mounted on a pole and elevated to approximately 3 feet off of the playing surface.
Accordingly, there is a need for a disc golf course including an improved receptacle for catching a disc that overcomes the limitations described above.